A Trip to The San Francisco Zoo

Cody loves animals and has been dying to take a trip to a zoo for a while now, so we decided it was time to go. We chose the San Francisco Zoo. We went on a Sunday, arrived around 11:00am and the zoo parking lot was already full and closed. Pro: we didn’t have to pay for parking. Con: we had to park four blocks away and walk. And of course, I had forgotten to grab my tennis shoes out of my car when we switched to Cody’s so I had to walk around the whole day in thin flip flops. We made it to the zoo though and that is what matters. Once we got inside we perused the gift shop, grabbed a map, and headed off on our adventure.

We followed the map and signs and walked through each area, taking our time and enjoying the stroll. Cody was especially excited about the baby gorilla that we saw. (I’m not much of a gorilla fan, but for a few minutes the little guy was actually kind of cute.) Following our true cliche habit, we saw a cart and bought a pretzel to share. And oh hey, I had no idea, but they sell beer at the zoo!

The zoo itself is pretty big, so we did a lot of walking. We went around the entire park, and by the time we were done we were tired and hungry so we stopped at the Leaping Lemur Café for a late lunch. The food wasn’t too bad, I ended up getting chicken strips, Cody got a chicken sandwich, and we felt like being kids so we both got chocolate milk. After that we headed home. But not before buying a couple of souvenir shot glasses for our collection. It was such a nice outing and we were able to spend some wonderful quality time together.

Healthy Side Note: Activities like this are a great way to sneak in some physical activity. Sure, you’re just walking, but covering that large of an area has got to burn a few calories right?

Here are a few tips we have for a trip to the zoo:

1. Check the zoo’s hours, admission prices, and parking fees before you go.
2. Make sure you know how to get there. (Or use your GPS like I always do.)
3. Wear comfortable shoes. Seems like common sense, but I had mine ready to bring with me and forgot them when we left.
4. Put on sunscreen. Especially on your face. You’re walking around outdoors a lot and even with clouds overhead, it’s an easy way to get too much sun exposure and possibly a sunburn. Gotta protect that skin!
5. Make sure you have cash for parking in case you do decide to use the zoo’s lot. Many parking lots only accept cash.
6. Grab a map as you enter. This way you’ll know where you’re going, where you can get food, and where the restrooms are located. I can’t tell you how many times Cody and I needed to refer to our map during our trip.
7. Bring a camera or make sure your phone has room on it to take some pictures.
8. Take your time and enjoy it. Leave enough time to be able to take it all in and enjoy your trip. You may need to stop and rest, or stop and eat, and you should allow time for that so you won’t feel rushed.